FOH sound limiter cutting power.

[Sleeping Giant]

I gigged in a pub in Bournemouth, England on saturday.

They had a sound limiter installed by the local council. As soon as the band hit a certain db level the power to the FOH and stage was cut off. We found that by just hittng the bass drum once at normal gig volume the power was cut.

We spent the whole evening playing at a comedy volume where we didn't enjoy it and neither did the customers.

We still got paid though.

 

[Zooberwerx]

...call in the engineers. There must be some way to circumvent this folly.

Riis

 

[fokof]

In Switzerland , the limit is 85db!!!!!!
To give you an idea , your average Vacuum cleaner is 80db


The limiter was probably locked so no one has access to the controls (wich is totaly understandable)
But if you want to have it louder , just bypass the limiter between the board and the amps.
I can guaranty you that it's gonna be the last time you'll play there if you do so.

 

[Robby Hoinsky]

In Switzerland , the limit is 85db!!!!!!
To give you an idea , your average Vacuum cleaner is 80db


The limiter was probably locked so no one has access to the controls (wich is totaly understandable)
But if you want to have it louder , just bypass the limiter between the board and the amps.
I can guaranty you that it's gonna be the last time you'll play there if you do so.

I haven't heard of this - nothing like this in the states (that I'm aware). How does it work? Is there a microphone mounted somewhere and if the level exceeds it, it cuts power? When did this start? Is it some government mandate? What's the rationale behind it?

Robby

 

[svtb15]

I did a gig many years ago, around (1977 ) at West Point Military Academy opening for Foghat.. the FOH was limited to something like 93dB.. Back then it was just a dB meter and the FOH with his hand on the master and a guy standing over him with that meter...

 

[KingRazor]

In Switzerland , the limit is 85db!!!!!!
To give you an idea , your average Vacuum cleaner is 80db


The limiter was probably locked so no one has access to the controls (wich is totaly understandable)
But if you want to have it louder , just bypass the limiter between the board and the amps.
I can guaranty you that it's gonna be the last time you'll play there if you do so.

Is that "A", "B", or "C" weighting?

 

[fokof]

How does it work? Is there a microphone mounted somewhere and if the level exceeds it, it cuts power? When did this start?

Either that or whenever a certain voltage is toped. (limiter)
Or a guy with a DB meter and his hand on the Master like SVTB mentioned

Is it some government mandate? What's the rationale behind it?

I found this:

Invalid Link Removed

Here , it's 105dbA. You CAN do something at that level but 85dbA is really tough to obtain a good mix.
They must sell a lot of V-Drums in Switzerland !

 

[lowfreq33]

Cuts the power? I bet that's pretty hard on the gear.

 

[Jimbob Jones]

Mmhmm, I've heard a few stories of fried valve amps not being reimbursed, and speaker stacks that go BANG loud enough on a hard power-up to just make them trip again...

My brother has a 100' extension reel in with his cables for this express purpose; he powers the band from behind the bar, where the limiter doesn't control the sockets.

 

[gumtown]

I have seen one once before in a bar, it is a sealed metal box with 5 lamps showing a bargraph of the sound it listens to, when the red lamp at the top goes, off goes the stage power for 10 seconds.

You need a big pillow to cover it with, just like we use rubber surgical gloves to cover smoke detectors for using the smoke/fog machine.

 

[Robby Hoinsky]

105dBa is doable - 85 dB anything would be really comical in a bar. One of my biggest problem with live bar bands in the states is how loud they are. I would be much happier with a 105dB limit both from a customer's perspective and a professional's.

Robby

 

[Zooberwerx]

You need a big pillow to cover it with, just like we use rubber surgical gloves to cover smoke detectors for using the smoke/fog machine.

I appreciate the spirit in which this anecdote is shared but defeating any safety measures or creating any potential hazards is a bad idea.

Think I'll post a "What do you do to promote crowd / venue safety?" thread under Band Mgmt.

Riis

 

[Sleeping Giant]

There is a mic linked to the sound limiter. There is a box you can see from the stage showing how loud you are. When it goes into the red you get about 5 seconds to quickly cut your volume or the power is cut.

Some venues have an automatic system to switch the power back on at others the bar staff have to do it.

At these gig I find myself staring at the box over the stage the whole night.

A few months ago the guitarist realised it was bass that was causing the limiter to react. I cut my volume down so it was just about audible and the guitarist turned up to full gig volume as he knew it wouldn't cut the power. This resulted in a terrible mix as we were only running the vocals and kick through our small PA.